Medical Billing and Coding Job Description Templates
5 free templates, combined specialist, medical biller, medical coder, small-practice first hire, and remote, with the FLSA non-exempt classification, HIPAA, and CPC/CPB/CCS certification guidance generic templates skip. Download as DOCX.
Medical billing and coding sounds like one job, but it is two: a coder translates clinical documentation into codes, and a biller turns those codes into paid claims. In a small practice, one person usually does both. Most templates online are thin duty lists that skip the three things that actually protect a small practice when it hires for this role: the FLSA classification, the HIPAA obligations, and the certification guidance. Get those right and the posting attracts qualified, trustworthy candidates.
At FirstHR, we build for small employers, and this role is core to that audience: most physician offices are small independent practices, and dental, chiropractic, and optometry offices hire a biller or coder regularly, often as a first administrative hire, without any HR support. The five templates below, a combined specialist plus medical biller, medical coder, small-practice first hire, and remote, are ready to use, each with the FLSA, HIPAA, and certification guidance generic templates leave out.
Medical billing and coding is two roles: a coder assigns ICD-10, CPT, and HCPCS codes, and a biller submits claims and works payments; small practices often combine them. The role is non-exempt and owed overtime, a federal court has confirmed coders are non-exempt, and the biller handles PHI from day one, so HIPAA starts at onboarding. Federal median pay is $50,250. Five templates, downloadable as DOCX.
Medical Biller vs Medical Coder
A medical coder reads clinical documentation and assigns diagnostic and procedure codes; a medical biller takes those codes and manages claims, payments, and denials. They are two halves of the revenue cycle, and in a small practice one person frequently does both. The coder translates care into codes, the biller turns codes into paid claims.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics groups this work under medical records specialists (SOC 29-2072), a category that explicitly includes medical coders. The work is computer-based and technical, requiring medical terminology, code-set knowledge, and software fluency, and is found in physician and dental offices, hospitals, and billing companies, increasingly on a remote basis.
Medical Billing and Coding Responsibilities
Responsibilities cluster into four areas: the coding side, the billing side, patient and account work, and compliance and privacy. A combined specialist covers all four; a dedicated coder or biller weights toward one. Pick the responsibilities that match the role you are hiring for.
Coding side
Review documentation and assign ICD-10, CPT, HCPCS
Ensure coding accuracy and compliance
Query providers on unclear documentation
Billing side
Verify insurance and submit clean claims
Post payments and reconcile accounts
Work denials, rejections, and appeals
Patient and account
Communicate with patients about balances
Run aging reports and follow up
Coordinate with front-desk and providers
Compliance and privacy
Protect PHI and follow HIPAA
Maintain coding and billing compliance
Keep certification and code knowledge current
The split matters for the posting: a coder job description leads with code-set accuracy and documentation, a biller job description leads with claims and denials, and a combined role spans both. For a structured way to scope it, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by how your practice divides the work. The structure is the same across all five, but each emphasizes the duties, certification, and setting that fit a specific kind of billing or coding role. Use this guide to choose the closest fit, then adjust.
Billing and Coding Specialist
Combined role
The combined version: one person handles both coding and billing across the full revenue cycle. Common in small practices where one hire does it all.
Medical Biller
Claims and payments
The billing side: insurance verification, claim submission, payment posting, and denials. Focused on getting clean claims out and payments in.
Medical Coder
Coding and compliance
The coding side: reviewing documentation and assigning ICD-10, CPT, and HCPCS codes accurately. Often remote-eligible and certification-driven.
Small Practice / First Hire
Multi-hat, no HR
For a small practice making its first billing hire: billing plus front-desk help, with HIPAA and overtime handled in plain language for the owner.
Remote Medical Biller
Work from home
For a remote biller: secure PHI handling, productivity targets, cloud software, and the state-overtime and home-office specifics remote work adds.
Match the Template to the Role
One person doing both: the Combined Billing and Coding Specialist. The claims and payment side: Medical Biller. The coding and compliance side: Medical Coder. A small practice making its first billing hire: Small Practice / First Hire. A work-from-home biller: Remote Medical Biller. When in doubt in a small practice, the combined specialist is the common starting point.
5 Free Medical Billing and Coding Job Description Templates
Download all five as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: practice and job summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, an FLSA note, compensation, and how to apply, with an equal opportunity statement. Fill in the brackets and post.
Download All 5 Job Description Templates
Combined specialist, medical biller, medical coder, small-practice first hire, and remote. All in one DOCX.
Template 1: Medical Billing and Coding Specialist (Combined)
The combined version: one person handles both coding and billing across the full revenue cycle. Common in small practices where one hire does it all.
Medical Billing and Coding Specialist Job Description (Combined)
MEDICAL BILLING AND CODING SPECIALIST JOB DESCRIPTION (COMBINED)
[One or two sentences about your practice, specialty, and the team. Note the
billing software and patient volume the specialist will handle.]
JOB SUMMARY
[Practice Name] is hiring a Medical Billing and Coding Specialist to handle the
full revenue cycle: assigning codes, submitting claims, posting payments, and
following up on denials. In a small practice, one person often does both coding
and billing. You will translate clinical documentation into accurate codes,
submit clean claims, and keep cash flowing while protecting patient privacy.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Assign ICD-10-CM, CPT, and HCPCS codes from clinical documentation
•Submit accurate, clean claims to payers
•Post payments and reconcile accounts
•Work denials, appeals, and rejected claims
•Verify insurance eligibility and benefits
•Communicate with patients about balances and statements
•Maintain coding compliance and query providers on documentation
•Protect PHI and follow HIPAA at all times
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•High school diploma or equivalent; postsecondary certificate preferred
•Knowledge of ICD-10-CM, CPT, HCPCS, and medical terminology
•Experience with EHR and billing software
•Certification (CPC, CPB, or CCS) preferred or in progress
•Detail-oriented, organized, and trustworthy with PHI
FLSA NOTE (read before posting)
A medical billing and coding specialist is NON-EXEMPT and owed overtime. The work
is technical and clerical, not exempt management or administrative work, so a
salary does not remove the overtime obligation. Track hours and pay overtime over
40 in a week. This is general information, not legal advice.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per [year / hour] [+ benefits]
To apply, send your resume to __.
[Practice Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 2: Medical Biller
The billing side: insurance verification, claim submission, payment posting, and denials and appeals. Focused on getting clean claims out and payments in.
[Organization Name] is hiring a Remote Medical Biller to manage claims and
patient accounts from a secure home office. You will submit claims, post
payments, work denials, and meet productivity targets while handling protected
health information securely. This role suits a self-directed biller with a
reliable, private, secure home setup.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Submit claims and post payments in cloud practice-management software
•Verify insurance and work denials and appeals
•Meet daily productivity and accuracy targets (claims per day)
•Communicate with the team and patients remotely
•Handle PHI securely: private workspace, secure network, no shared devices
•Run reports and follow up on unpaid claims
•Maintain HIPAA compliance in a remote setting
•Coordinate with coders and front-office staff
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Billing experience and knowledge of the revenue cycle
•Experience with cloud-based billing or practice-management software
•Reliable home office: private space, secure internet, encrypted device
•Self-directed and productive without on-site supervision
•Certification (CPB) preferred; trustworthy with PHI
FLSA AND REMOTE NOTE (read before posting)
A remote medical biller is NON-EXEMPT and owed overtime; track hours even when
the employee works from home, and follow the overtime rules of the state where
the employee actually works. Require a secure, private setup for handling PHI
remotely. This is general information, not legal advice.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per [year / hour] [+ benefits]
To apply, send your resume to __.
[Organization Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
FLSA, HIPAA, and Certification
This is the part the generic templates skip, and for a billing hire it is where the real risk lives: the role is non-exempt, the biller touches PHI from day one, and certification choices matter. Here is what to get right.
Medical billers and coders are non-exempt and owed overtime
This is the classification almost every template gets wrong by omission, and it carries real liability. A medical biller or coder performs technical and clerical work: applying code sets, submitting claims, posting payments, and following payer rules. That work does not meet the administrative exemption, which requires office work directly related to management or general business operations plus the exercise of discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance, and clerical employees are specifically not administratively exempt. It does not meet the professional exemption either, since the role does not require an advanced academic degree. A federal appeals court has upheld a jury finding that medical coders were non-exempt and owed overtime. So treat the role as non-exempt regardless of the title or whether you pay a salary, track hours, and pay overtime over 40 in a week. This is general information, not legal advice.
The biller handles PHI from day one, so HIPAA starts before the first shift
A medical biller or coder accesses protected health information immediately, which makes HIPAA an onboarding issue, not a someday issue. Your practice is a covered entity under the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, and the workforce must be trained on privacy and security policies, given only the minimum necessary access for their role, and held to sanctions for violations. Practically, that means a signed confidentiality and HIPAA acknowledgment in place before the new biller touches a chart, role-appropriate access to your billing and records systems, and documented HIPAA training early in onboarding. For a remote biller, add a secure, private workspace and an encrypted device. Build these into the hire rather than discovering a gap during an audit or after a breach. This is general information, not legal advice.
Certification is preferred, not always required, and it pays
Billing and coding certifications signal competence and command higher pay, but they are usually a preference rather than a hard requirement, especially for a small practice. The common credentials are the Certified Professional Coder and Certified Professional Biller from the AAPC, and the Certified Coding Specialist from AHIMA, each with its own focus and exam. Certified specialists tend to earn meaningfully more than uncertified ones. Decide whether you need a certified hire or are willing to train, and state it clearly: require or prefer the relevant credential, and accept in-progress certification for an early-career hire. Then plan to collect and store a copy of the certificate during onboarding. This is general information, not legal advice.
Mind pay transparency and the rules for remote billers
Two posting issues come up often for this role. First, pay transparency: a growing number of states require an hourly or salary range in the job posting, and several have low employee thresholds that catch small practices, including California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Washington, and others, so check your state and post a realistic range. Second, remote work: medical billing is increasingly done from home, and a remote, non-exempt biller must still have hours tracked and overtime paid, generally under the wage-and-hour rules of the state where the employee actually works, not where the practice sits. If you hire across state lines, confirm the applicable minimum wage and overtime rules. This is general information, not legal advice.
Non-Exempt, and a Federal Court Has Confirmed It
Medical billing and coding is technical and clerical work that does not meet the administrative exemption, and the rules are explicit that clerical employees are not administratively exempt. A federal appeals court upheld a jury finding that medical coders were non-exempt and owed overtime. Treat the role as non-exempt, track hours, and pay overtime regardless of title or salary.
For the underlying rules, the exempt versus non-exempt guide and the Fair Labor Standards Act overview explain the duties tests and overtime. The practical rule: classify the role non-exempt, get a signed HIPAA acknowledgment before day one, decide your certification requirement, and post a range where your state requires one.
Certifications: CPC, CPB, and CCS
The main billing and coding certifications come from two bodies and each has a focus. Use this to decide what to require or prefer, and to read a candidate's credentials.
Credential
Issuer
Focus
CPC (Certified Professional Coder)
AAPC
Outpatient and physician coding accuracy
CPB (Certified Professional Biller)
AAPC
Billing, claims, and the revenue cycle
CCS (Certified Coding Specialist)
AHIMA
Hospital and physician coding, ICD-10 and CPT
CCA (Certified Coding Associate)
AHIMA
Entry-level coding credential
For most small practices, certification is a preference rather than a hard requirement, and accepting an in-progress credential widens your candidate pool. You can verify credentials through the AAPC for CPC and CPB and through AHIMA for CCS and CCA, then store a copy of the certificate during onboarding.
Skills and Requirements
Billing and coding requirements center on code-set knowledge, software fluency, accuracy, and trustworthiness with PHI, with certification as a strong plus. Scale the specifics to the role and your patient volume.
Requirement
What to look for
Education
High school diploma; postsecondary coding certificate preferred
Code knowledge
ICD-10-CM, CPT, HCPCS, and medical terminology
Software
EHR, billing, and practice-management or clearinghouse tools
Certification
CPC, CPB, or CCS preferred or in progress
Accuracy
Detail-oriented with strong claim and coding accuracy
Privacy
Trustworthy with PHI; HIPAA-aware
Keep every requirement job-related and neutral, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on a protected characteristic, and the SHRM guide covers the standard sections of a job description. Because the role handles PHI, align access and training with the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
Medical Biller and Coder Pay
Medical billing and coding pay is hourly and varies by region, setting, experience, and certification. Anchor to the federal occupation, then adjust for your market and credential requirements.
Median $50,250, About $24 an Hour (BLS)
By federal data for May 2024, medical records specialists, the occupation that includes medical coders, had a median annual wage of $50,250 (about $24 an hour), with the lowest 10 percent under $35,780 and the highest 10 percent over $80,950. Employment is projected to grow about 7 percent through 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 14,200 openings a year.
Certified specialists generally earn meaningfully more than uncertified ones, and pay runs higher in hospitals and large billing operations than in small practices. Because the role is non-exempt, the effective earnings also depend on overtime, which must be paid at one and a half times the regular rate over 40 hours in a week. Set your range using current data for your market and the specific role, factor in whether you require certification, and post a range where your state requires one. This is general information, not legal advice.
Hiring for a Small Practice
Most physician offices are small independent practices, and dental, chiropractic, and optometry offices are even less consolidated. They hire a biller or coder regularly, often as a first administrative hire, and without HR support. Here is what that reality means for the posting.
Independent practices hire billers constantly, often as the first admin hire
Most physician offices are small, independent practices, and dental, chiropractic, and optometry offices are even less consolidated. These small practices hire a medical biller or a combined billing-and-coding specialist regularly, frequently as one of the first dedicated administrative hires, and almost never have a dedicated HR person to write the posting. The owner or an office manager does it between seeing patients. The generic billing and coding templates online are written as if every employer has an HR department and a compliance officer; they skip the realities of a small practice. The five versions here, especially the small-practice first-hire version, are written for that reality: plain language, multi-hat duties, and the HIPAA and overtime points the owner actually needs, ready to fill in and post.
Classification and HIPAA are the two places a small practice gets exposed
Two specific risks trip up small practices on a billing hire, and neither appears in the generic templates. First, classification: the role is non-exempt and owed overtime, but practices often put a biller on a flat salary and skip overtime, which is a misclassification that builds back-pay liability, and a federal court has confirmed coders are non-exempt. Second, HIPAA: the biller handles protected health information from the first shift, so the practice needs a signed confidentiality acknowledgment, documented training, and minimum-necessary system access in place before day one. The templates here build the non-exempt FLSA note and the HIPAA acknowledgment reminder in, so the posting and the onboarding start compliant rather than getting fixed after an audit.
Onboarding a biller is document-heavy and privacy-sensitive
A new biller needs to be productive fast and compliant from the first claim, which makes a clean, documented onboarding worth getting right. After the offer, the work is consistent: a signed offer stating the non-exempt hourly classification, Form I-9 and tax forms, a signed confidentiality and HIPAA acknowledgment, a copy of any CPC, CPB, or CCS certificate, role-appropriate system access, and a first-week training plan on your billing software and payer rules. FirstHR fits this for a small practice: e-signature for the offer and the HIPAA acknowledgment, an AI onboarding wizard to turn the role into an onboarding workflow, training modules with documented completion for HIPAA and software, task workflows for access and certification steps, and document management for signed forms and certificate copies. To be clear about scope, FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a billing, practice-management, or EHR system, so pair it with those; it does not run payroll or administer benefits. Applicant tracking is coming soon.
From Hiring to Onboarding
The job description is step one. Once a candidate accepts, the same document becomes the basis for the offer and a HIPAA-ready onboarding: a biller handles protected health information from the first claim, so a clean, documented process protects both the patient and the practice.
Send the offer
Confirm the role, hourly rate, and non-exempt classification in writing. An offer letter template makes this fast for a billing hire.
Sign the HIPAA acknowledgment
A signed confidentiality and HIPAA acknowledgment in place before the biller touches a chart, since they handle PHI from day one.
Collect certification and set access
Store a copy of any CPC, CPB, or CCS certificate, and grant minimum-necessary access to billing and records systems.
Store the records
Keep the signed offer, I-9, HIPAA acknowledgment, and certificate organized for compliance and audits.
Once your offer is ready, the offer letter template handles the next step, and an onboarding template gives the new biller a structured start. FirstHR connects the offer, paperwork, e-signatures, the HIPAA acknowledgment, certification storage, and the onboarding workflow in one place so a small practice can run the full process from one system, with the non-exempt classification and HIPAA acknowledgment recorded from day one. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a billing, practice-management, or EHR system, so pair it with those; it does not run payroll or administer benefits, so connect those separately. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Key Takeaways
Medical billing and coding is two roles: a coder assigns codes, a biller works claims and payments; small practices often combine them.
Use the template that matches the work: combined specialist, biller, coder, small-practice first hire, or remote.
The role is non-exempt and owed overtime; a federal court has confirmed coders are non-exempt, so do not salary it to skip overtime.
The biller handles PHI from day one, so a signed HIPAA acknowledgment and documented training belong in onboarding.
Certification (CPC, CPB, CCS) is usually preferred, not required, and raises pay; accept in-progress for early-career hires.
Federal median pay is $50,250, about $24 an hour, with employment growing 7 percent through 2034.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a medical biller and a medical coder?
They are two halves of the revenue cycle, and in a small practice one person often does both. A medical coder reads clinical documentation and assigns the correct diagnostic and procedure codes, using ICD-10-CM, CPT, and HCPCS code sets, and queries providers when documentation is unclear. A medical biller takes those codes and manages the money side: verifying insurance, submitting claims, posting payments, and working denials and appeals. Put simply, the coder translates care into codes, and the biller turns codes into paid claims. The skills overlap, both require medical terminology and software fluency, but the daily focus differs: coding is documentation and compliance, billing is claims and accounts. Larger organizations split these into separate roles; small practices frequently hire one combined billing and coding specialist. Match the title and template to how your practice divides the work. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is a medical biller or coder exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
Non-exempt, in nearly all cases. Medical billing and coding is technical and clerical work: applying code sets, submitting claims, posting payments, and following payer rules. That does not meet the administrative exemption, which requires office work directly related to management or general business operations and the exercise of discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance, and clerical employees are specifically not administratively exempt. It also does not meet the professional exemption, which requires an advanced academic degree. A federal appeals court has upheld a jury finding that medical coders were non-exempt and owed overtime. So a medical biller or coder is non-exempt regardless of job title and regardless of whether you pay a salary, which means you must track hours and pay overtime at one and a half times the regular rate over 40 hours in a week. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do medical billers and coders need certification?
Certification is usually preferred rather than strictly required, though it raises pay and competitiveness. The common credentials are the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) and Certified Professional Biller (CPB) from the AAPC, and the Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) from AHIMA. Each has a different focus: CPC and CCS center on coding accuracy across code sets, while CPB centers on the billing and claims process. Certified specialists generally earn meaningfully more than uncertified ones, and many employers list certification as preferred or accept it in progress, especially for early-career hires. For a small practice, you can decide whether to require a certified hire or to train someone with aptitude. Whatever you choose, state it clearly in the posting and plan to collect and store a copy of the certificate during onboarding. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much do medical billers and coders make?
Using federal data from May 2024, medical records specialists, the occupation that includes medical coders, had a median annual wage of $50,250, about $24 an hour, with the lowest 10 percent under $35,780 and the highest 10 percent over $80,950. Pay varies by region, setting, experience, and certification, and certified specialists tend to earn meaningfully more than uncertified ones. The role is hourly and non-exempt, so the effective rate also depends on overtime. Employment in the occupation is projected to grow about 7 percent through 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 14,200 openings a year, driven partly by an aging population and the steady demand for accurate records and reimbursement. Set your range using current data for your market and the specific role, and post a range where your state requires one. This is general information, not legal advice.
Does a small medical or dental practice have to follow HIPAA for a biller?
Yes. A medical, dental, chiropractic, or optometry practice that transmits health information electronically is a covered entity under HIPAA, regardless of how small it is, and a medical biller accesses protected health information from the first shift. That means the practice must train the biller on HIPAA privacy and security, give only the minimum necessary access needed for the role, and apply sanctions for violations. Practically, you should have a signed confidentiality and HIPAA acknowledgment in place before the new biller touches a chart, role-appropriate access to your systems, and documented HIPAA training early in onboarding. For a remote biller, add a secure, private workspace and an encrypted device. The compliance does not scale down with the practice; building it into onboarding is the simplest way to stay current. This is general information, not legal advice.
Can a medical biller or coder work remotely?
Yes, and remote work is a growing part of the field, especially for coding. The work is computer-based, so a biller or coder with a secure, private home office can do it remotely using cloud practice-management and billing software. The two things to get right are security and wage rules. On security, a remote biller handles protected health information, so require a private workspace, a secure network, and an encrypted device, and keep HIPAA safeguards in place. On wages, a remote non-exempt biller must still have hours tracked and overtime paid, and the wage-and-hour rules generally follow the state where the employee actually works, not where the practice is located, so if you hire across state lines, confirm the applicable minimum wage and overtime rules. The remote template here covers these specifics. This is general information, not legal advice.
Can one person do both medical billing and coding?
Yes, and in small practices it is common. A combined medical billing and coding specialist handles the full revenue cycle: reading documentation and assigning codes, then submitting claims, posting payments, and working denials. This works well for a small practice with manageable patient volume, where hiring two separate people is not justified. The tradeoff is that the combined role demands broad competence across both code-set knowledge and claims and payer processes, so look for someone with experience or certification in both, or be ready to train. As a practice grows, the combined role often splits into a dedicated coder and a dedicated biller. The combined specialist template here is written for the one-person revenue-cycle hire, while the separate biller and coder templates fit practices that split the work. This is general information, not legal advice.
What should a medical billing and coding job description include?
A strong posting names the specific role first, whether combined specialist, biller, coder, small-practice first hire, or remote, since that shapes the duties and the code-set or claims focus. Include a short practice summary, a job summary framing the revenue-cycle role, and responsibilities grouped into the coding side, the billing side, patient and account work, and compliance and privacy. State the required knowledge of ICD-10-CM, CPT, and HCPCS and billing software, with CPC, CPB, or CCS certification preferred or in progress. The most valuable additions that generic templates skip are the FLSA note marking the role non-exempt and overtime-eligible, a HIPAA and confidentiality reminder since the biller handles PHI from day one, and an hourly pay range where your state requires one. Close with an equal opportunity statement and clear apply instructions. This is general information, not legal advice.
